Click here to sign the petition to HUD secretary Shaun Donovan regarding the Valley's need for federal dollars
In less than a week after receiving the news that the Valley will not receive needed stimulus funds, MVOC leaders, Congressman Tim Ryan and Mayor Jay Williams travelled to DC to meet with top White House and HUD officials to discuss the application and to demand resources for nine cities in the Valley.
“If our application for Neighborhood Stabilization Dollars missed the mark, then the bulls eye was in the wrong place,” said Congressman Tim Ryan. “At the highest levels of the White House, they felt our frustration, they understood what we are saying and they committed to come to the Valley in the near future with a commitment of real resources,'' Ryan said.
White House Urban Affairs Director Adolfo Carrion and Special Assistant Derek Douglas met with Valley leaders for ninety minutes discussing the NSP application and the failure of HUD policies to address the needs of smaller older industrial cities.
“They committed to coming to the Valley to tour our neighborhoods and they also got the message not to come here without a check,” said MVOC Board Chair Pastor Michael Harrison. “But we don’t just want a one time visit and some resources, we want an ongoing relationship with HUD. They need to understand what is happening in places like Youngstown and Warren,” Harrison continued.
Nearly a year ago, a thousand residents gathered at Union Baptist Church to demand that the Valley not be overlooked in upcoming stimulus dollar allocations. Top state officials including Lt. Governor Lee Fisher promised to deliver. Now community members are mobilizing in even greater numbers to demand needed federal dollars to the Valley. In just 48 hours, more than 2,500 people signed an online petition to Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan and have joined MVOC’s campaign.
“We have to keep the pressure on,” said Pastor Michael Harrison. “It isn’t over until the dollars get here and until we change how these programs are structured so that our cities can compete fairly.”
To read more about the strategy, click here.
Community leaders have been pushing a portfolio of issues at the federal level in the past two years including advocating for stimulus funds, the passing of the Community Regeneration and Sustainability and Innovation Act (CRSI), and getting HUD officials to tour the Valley to better understand the challenges that older industrial cities face.
